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The Open Heart Project: A chance to meditate on life, love, and reality

January 26, 2012   |   2 Comments

What is it? Several years ago, I was wrapping up teaching a particularly moving week-long meditation and writing retreat. My small group (about 15 people) had committed to spending 7 days in the Rocky Mountains, learning to meditate and working on personal writing projects. There were no phones, no TVs, and no internet service. To cap off the sense of... READ MORE

Mindfulness-Awareness

January 25, 2012   |   13 Comments

mindfulness and awareness practice and study form and emptiness precision and letting go unconditionality and tenderness word and story voice and song concentration and intuition luminosity and emptiness What do these pairs of words have in common? As we practice shamatha meditation (sometimes translated as the practice of tranquility), we come to see that it is actually comprised of two... READ MORE

Finding a path. Or how I became a Buddhist.

January 18, 2012   |   31 Comments

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/35269526[/vimeo] Hello everyone. Yesterday a member of the Open Heart Project asked me how I became a Buddhist and I told her I would answer the question in a post. Each of us comes to our spiritual path in a unique way and, as the poet Rumi said, there are a million ways to kneel and kiss the ground. There... READ MORE

I have a dream. What is yours?

January 16, 2012   |   18 Comments

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/35166702[/vimeo] I have a dream. That one day, we will live in a world where we recognize all beings as one family. I have a dream that on that day, when any one of my brothers or sisters, be they known to me or unknown, seen or unseen, animal or human, finds themselves in sorrow for any reason, a dark... READ MORE

Meditation misconceptions revisited

January 11, 2012   |   14 Comments

Whether you’ve practiced meditation countless times or this is your very first time, it cannot hurt to review some of the biggest meditation misconceptions: 1. To meditate, you have to stop thinking. This is the big one. Somehow, people have the idea that to meditate, you must “clear the mind of thought.” What does that even mean? Please think about... READ MORE

Day Seven: On Being an Artist

January 4, 2012   |   Leave a reply

Art is a uniquely human endeavor, and act of genius. Art is what we do when we do something for the first time, do it uniquely, and do it to touch someone else. The generosity is built into the act. Painting might be art, pottery might be art, customer service might be art–but none of them are art if all... READ MORE

Day Six: What are your spiritual values?

December 31, 2011   |   2 Comments

Next week I will return to posting 2x per week. Today’s question, the 6th in our 7-question series is from moi-self. Tomorrow’s question, on being an artist, is from the beloved and be-respected Seth Godin. Question: Where, how, and with whom have my spiritual values manifested in 2011? Where, how, and with whom do I wish to express/manifest/share them in... READ MORE

Day Four: What does it mean to serve?

December 29, 2011   |   4 Comments

Next week I will return to posting 2x per week. Today’s question, the 4th in our 7-question series is from Jennifer Louden. Tomorrow’s question, on creativity, is from Jonathan Fields. Stay tuned! Question: How did I serve in 2011? Whom did I serve? What aspects of my service brought me alive? What aspects drained me? If I could serve in... READ MORE

Day Three: Becoming organized: a spiritual practice?

December 28, 2011   |   4 Comments

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” -Albert Einstein Each day between Dec 26 and Jan 1, fellow teacher, writer, and friend Patti Digh and I are hosting The Week of Inward Looking. Each day, a new question from a wonderful teacher. Today’s contemplation is from Andrew Mellen, aka “VIrgoman” and... READ MORE

Day Two: Where have you been hiding?

December 27, 2011   |   5 Comments

Each day between Dec 26, 2011 and Jan 1, 2012, one of seven wonderful teachers will offer us a question to contemplate as we head into a new year. Yesteday’s question was from the lovely Patti Digh and it lives here on my blog and here on Facebook. Chime in if you like! Today’s question is from the equally lovely... READ MORE

Day One: Reflecting together into 2012

December 26, 2011   |   9 Comments

As we move into a new year, I want to offer you a few personal reflections, some suggestions for your own process of reflecting, and opportunities to practice together into 2012. For me, this week provides the perfect circumstances for turning within and asking myself honestly, how did I do in 2011? What do I hope for in 2012? How... READ MORE

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